Figure 1.

Berberine prevents oligomeric Aβ_1-42 cytotoxicity in primary cultured hippocampal neurons. (a) Effects of berberine on cell viability. Neurons were treated with the indicated doses of berberine (0, 0.375, 0.75, 1.5, or 3 μM) for 24 h. (b) Effects of oligomeric Aβ_1-42 on cell viability. Neurons were treated with the indicated doses of Aβ_1-42 (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, or 5 μM) for 24 h. (c) Berberine increases the viability of primary hippocampal neurons treated with Aβ_1-42. Neurons were preincubated with berberine (0.1, 0.3, or 1 μM) for 1 h and then exposed to oligomeric Aβ_1-42 (0.5 μM) for 24 h. Results were normalized to the control group (lane 1). Values are expressed as the mean ± standard error of the mean of 4 independent experiments. ^∗∗p < 0.01 vs. the vehicle-treated group, ^#p < 0.05 vs. the Aβ_1-42-treated group. Aβ: cells were treated with Aβ_1-42 at 0.5 μM.